A Real American Hero (DiC TV series)
Picking up where the Operation: Dragonfire miniseries left off, DiC's continuation of the G.I. Joe animated continuity after the original Sunbow series and movie has been received with mixed results from various fans. It clearly represented a clean break with the previous series, what with completely new music and theme song, mostly new voice actors (only Christopher Collins Commander, Morgan Lofting Baroness, Bob Remus Slaughter, and Edmund Gilbert Hawk were retained from the Sunbow series -- and, even then, Lofting and Gilbert were replaced in the series' second season, while Remus didn't appear at all in the second season), and most of the familiar characters were given completely new outfits (only Sgt. Slaughter, Duke the first season, at least, Scarlett, and the Baroness look virtually identical to their Sunbow appearances, while Lady Jaye, Destro, and Zarana at least bear passing resemblances). The animation is also somewhat of a lower quality in this series, and the focus on broader humor geared toward younger audiences - along with more heavy-handed social messages seemed to alienate older fans. Indeed, such concepts as a Joe vs. Cobra football game, a gorilla falling in love with Cobra Commander, and a plot centering around General Hawk's favorite cookies, were, in the eyes of more traditional fans, simply indefensible. Nonetheless, it must be noted that this series was also more generally grounded in reality; there were considerably fewer science fiction and/or more fantastical elements here compared to the Sunbow series. This series also continued the tradition of focusing on the newer characters that were being introduced in the Hasbro toy line at the time. As a result, various special forces such as the Eco-Warriors and the Ninja Force were presented, though all were clearly aligned with either G.I. Joe or Cobra. Storm Shadow's defection to G.I. Joe - previously only covered in the comics - was acknowledged here in the second season, although Destro remains in Cobra's fold throughout, never leaving them to form the Iron Grenadiers; Metal Head and the Undertow frogmen are instead shown here as Cobra lackeys. Lady Jaye is the only female Joe to appear in an active role in the first season, while Scarlett is the only one to appear in the second season (though she is briefly seen in the first season episode "The Mind Mangler" when the eponymous character is trying to read Duke's thoughts). Episodes Season 1 Season 2 The second season of the series revived several more Joe characters from the Sunbow series, though they're generally given very minor roles with little screen time; Flint, as leader of the Eco-Warriors, and Grunt - who is given significantly more screen time here than the first time around - are the only ones of these who play pivotal roles in any of the episodes. It also introduced the concept of giving each episode a cold open before leading into the opening titles. While 20 episodes were produced for this season, the last two - which premiered separately from the other 18 in early 1992 - were essentially clip shows. Cast Season 1 Main Cast *Michael Benyaer - Airwave, Scoop *Don Brown - Alley Viper *Gary Chalk - Pathfinder, Crimson Guard Immortal, Desert Scorpion, Metal-Head, Alley Viper, Frankie, BIOK *Brent Chapman - Red Star, Salvo, Alley Viper, Crimson Guard Immortal, Snow Serpent, Jackie Love *Christopher Collins - Cobra Commander, Rock-Viper, Snow Serpent, Dragon Emperor, Serpent-Man *Lisa Corps - Zarana, Dr. Deborah Carday *Kevin Conway - Topside, S.A.W.-Viper, Undertow, Cab Driver *Ian Corlett - Rampart, Alley Viper, Gnawgahyde, Range-Viper, S.A.W.-Viper *Suzanne-Errett Balcom - Lady Jaye *Edmund Gilbert - General Hawk *Ted Harrison - Duke *Phil Hayes - Airborne *Jerry Houser - Sci-Fi *Terry Klassen - Altitude *Andrew Koening - Ambush, Night-Creeper, Night Creeper Leader, Range-Viper *Maurice La Marche - Big Ben, Dusty, Low-Light, Heavy Duty, Destro, Sandstorm *Morgan Lofting - Baroness *Scott McNeil - Freefall, Range-Viper, S.A.W.-Viper *Rick Poltaruk - Drop Zone, Laser-Viper, Range-Viper *Bob Remus - Sgt. Slaughter *Alvin Sanders - Stretcher, José Riviera *William Taylor - Static Line *David Wills - Bullhorn *Dale Wilson - Capt. Grid-Iron, Skydive, Undertow Additional Voices *Mark Acheson - Studio 55 Bouncer (Pigskin Commandos) *Babs Chula - Metal-Head's Granny (Granny Dearest) *Gary Jones - Hubert Oswald (An Officer and a Viperman) *John Novak - The Mind Mangler (The Mind Mangler) *Doug Parker - Shoe Designer (Injustice and the Cobra Way) *Tomm Wright - Cubbie (Cold Shoulder) *Anabel Kershaw - Fiona Diamond (That's Entertainment) *Victoria Langston - Ghost Girl (Night of the Creepers) *Pauline Newstone - President Mason (Injustice and the Cobra Way) Season 2 Main Cast *Don Brown - Crimson Guard Immortal *Gary Chalk - Pathfinder, Metal-Head, Gristle, Shockwave *Christopher Collins - Cobra Commander *Michael Donovan - Flint, Cloudburst, Night-Viper *Suzanne-Errett Balcom - Scarlett, Baroness *Ted Harrison - Duke *Phil Hayes - Tracker *David Kaye Hope - General Hawk *Terry Klassen - Cesspool *Maurice La Marche - Big Ben, Dusty, Low-Light, Heavy Duty, Mercer, Psyche-Out, Destro, Major Bludd, Sky Creeper, Night Creeper Leader *Scott McNeil - Lt. Falcon, Skymate, Big Bear, Headman, Storm Shadow *Robert O. Smith - Grunt, Wet-Suit *William Taylor - Bulletproof *David Willis - Bullhorn *Dale Wilson - Capt. Grid-Iron, Overkill Additional Voices *Jay Brazeau - *Babs Chula - Metal Head's Granny (Metal Head's Reunion) *Kevin Conway - Rock 'n Roll (Long Live Rock and Roll, The Sludge Factor, Basic Training) *Ian James Corlett - Billy Blaster (Long Live Rock and Roll) *Tom Davidson - *Mike Donovan - *Marcy Goldberg - *Fred Henderson - Ambush (A is for Android) *Terry King - *Lalainia Lindberg - Cindi (The Greatest Evil) *Blu Mankuma - Guardian of El Dorado, Roadblock (El Dorado: The Lost City of Gold) *Shane Meier - Adam (A is for Android) *Derek Peakman - *Margot Pinvidic - *Alvin Sanders - José Riviera (Cobra World) Crew * Madeline Bascomb - Voice Director (Season Two) * Marsha Goodman - Voice Director ("Operation Dragonfire" mini-series), Casting Director (Season One and Two) * Shirley McGregor - Talent Coordinator * Ginny McSwain - Voice Director ("Operation Dragonfire" mini-series) * Doug Parker - Voice Director ("Operation Dragonfire" mini-series and Season One) * Paul Quinn - Voice Director (Season Two) * Victor Villegas - Voice Director ("Operation Dragonfire" mini-series) Category:Television series Category:Generation 1